Yobatu lay propped up by pillows, staring fixedly at a point on the wall. Shi-Bachi leaned over him and spoke clearly in Japanese. There was no reaction.
‘I am sorry, gentlemen,’ he said to the policemen. ‘For your convenience, I will speak in English.’
He turned again to face the bed. ‘Yobatu
‘You have been accused of terrible crimes. Do you have any defence, or any answer to these charges?’ His tone was stem, but it brought no movement, no reaction of any kind.
Shi-Bachi repeated his question, louder the second time. But Yobatu continued to stare at his piece of wall.
The Ambassador looked at the man for some time. He placed himself in his line of sight. Still Yobatu did not react, or move a muscle. Shi-Bachi turned to the group of policemen.
‘We have a problem, you and I. Let us go away to think about it.’
They left the hospital in silence. Skinner drove Shi-Bachi to the Caledonian, one of the two massive hotels which stand like bookends at either end of Princes Street. A subdued Allingham met them in the foyer. They arranged to meet at Fettes Avenue at 9.30 a.m. next day.
Skinner arrived at Sarah’s flat just five minutes before midnight. She met him at the front door. ‘Bob, you look exhausted. What a day you must have had. Come on, let’s not bother with a night-cap. Let’s go to bed.’
As they undressed in silence, Sarah looked beneath the tiredness, and saw that Skinner the detective was still mentally at work.
‘Come on then, darling, tell me what’s wrong.’
‘I’m not exactly sure. I have a feeling that I’m going to lose this guy to the Japanese, and that’s eating at me. But there’s something else, too. It’s been niggling away since the start, and I can’t nail it down.’
‘Look, Robert, you’ve got the right man, yes?’
‘Look at the evidence. And he as good as admitted it before his mind went on its holidays.’
‘Then does it matter whether he spends the rest of his life in a secure mental hospital here, or in one in Japan. Because that’s the likely outcome, as Kevin O’Malley would tell you right now, if you really pressed him.
‘It matters to me that people know that we’ve caught him, that they can feel safe again. That’s what really matters.’
‘Then that’s your deal with the Japanese. They can have him without protest, but the story is told.’
‘My lovely Doctor, you are too sensible for your own good. Come here.
‘Skinner, you must be joking! Sleep - now!’
And almost instantly, involuntarily, he obeyed.
37
The meeting with Shi-Bachi and Allingham took place once more in Proud Jimmy’s fine, oak-panelled office. Tea was served in delicate china cups, and two plates of MacVitie’s chocolate digestive biscuits, obligatory at such meetings, even at 9.30 a.m., were placed on the highly polished table, around which seven men sat.
Skinner was on the Chief Constable’s right, with Martin beyond him On Proud’s left, sat Assistant Chief Constable Graham Parton, Strathclyde Constabulary’s Head of CID, with Willie Haggerty by his side.
Shi-Bachi and Allingham sat opposite the group of policemen, giving the meeting a suitably formal air. As soon as his secretary had poured the tea and left the room, Proud took the initiative.
‘Your Excellency, I do not propose that a written record be kept of this meeting. But, I would ask you to agree to the attendance as an observer of Mr John Wilson, who is Private Secretary to the Lord Advocate, our senior Law Officer. In suggesting this, I recognise formally that our courts do not have jurisdiction over Mr Yobatu in the matters which we are here to discuss.’
The Ambassador returned Proud Jimmy’s cool gaze. He nodded briefly. ‘I have no objection, Chief Constable.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ Proud turned to Martin. ‘Chief Inspector, you should find Mr Wilson in my outer office. Would you please invite him to join us.’
‘Sir.’ Martin left the room.
Skinner was surprised. The Chief had not told him about the Lord Advocate’s observer. However, he supposed to himself that it was only natural for the politicians to want to keep an eye on a sensitive matter which was, not only in theory, but in all probability in practice, out of their hands.
Martin reappeared a few seconds later. He held the door open to admit a tall man in his early forties, with thinning hair and a sharp face. Wilson took a seat at the table, midway between Shi-Bachi and Martin, symbolically at least, a member of neither camp.
Proud Jimmy nodded towards the man, ‘For your benefit, Mr Wilson, and, to an extent, for that of ACC Parton, I will ask Chief Superintendent Skinner to give an account of his investigation, and of the events which have led us all to this meeting this morning.’
Skinner looked to his right, making full eye-contact with Wilson. The man dropped his eyes after only a couple of seconds. In a far recess of Skinner’s mind an alarm bell sounded, faintly. He ignored it and began to speak.
Once again, he went through the story stage by stage, looking at Wilson frequently as he did so, as if the man was a juror, and he was in the witness-box. As he reached the climax of his tale, he described in detail the encounter with Yobatu, citing the man’s delight at the manner of Shun Lee’s death, and his silent reaction to the discoveries in his garage.
Turning from witness to prosecutor, he began to sum up. ‘So where does that leave us, gentlemen?
‘It brings us to a position where we have motive, opportunity and hard evidence, all pointing to the guilt of Yobatu
‘On the basis of our evidence we believe that we would undoubtedly gain convictions on the four Edinburgh murders, at the very least, were Yobatu
‘But all of this, Mr Wilson, is academic. As an honorary vice-consul of Japan, Yobatu san enjoys diplomatic immunity, and could not be prosecuted for these crimes, even if he were fit to plead. That is the situation which we are here to discuss.’
Skinner looked across at Shi-Bachi. ‘Your Excellency, you can see my - our position. We have had a series of brutal murders which have caused great public concern.
‘We believe that we have caught the perpetrator. But we can’t tell the public, to allay their fears, and we can’t charge the man because of his status.’
Skinner sat back in his seat and looked at Shi-Bachi.
But before the Ambassador could speak, Allingham broke in. ‘Correct me it I am wrong, Chief Superintendent, but Yobatu
Skinner looked at him, mastering his dislike of the man only with an effort. ‘Superintendent, listen as a policeman to what I am saying to you. The evidence here is so strong, that in all my experience, I have never encountered a jury which would have acquitted after hearing it.’
Shi-Bachi waved Allingham to silence. ‘Gentlemen.’ He looked directly at Parton, then Proud, and finally Skinner, upon whom his gaze settled as he spoke. ‘I grieve for what has happened in your cities. I grieve for the people who are dead. But what can I do? We have a man suspected of vile crimes who is under the protection of international law. I cannot remove his status.
‘However, Yobatu san himself can elect to stand trial and face the consequences if he is convicted. In theory, I cannot force him to make that choice, Nevertheless, I am of the Japanese royal family; he is samurai. In practice, I can order him, and he will obey. Should his condition improve so that it becomes possible, that I will do.
‘In the meantime, you may keep him in your hospital for as long as is necessary. My Embassy will pay for his treatment, and will fly over the best available man in Japan to assist. For the present, I suggest that you tell your newspapers that you have arrested a man, who is for the moment too ill to be charged or to stand trial, but that
